For making and breaking joints in strings of drill pipe in an oil well, etc., it is still common to employ manually-operated rig tongs, which are large and bulky and difficult to operate and which cannot easily provide controlled torque values. Such rig tongs are dangerous to use, being normally operated by a cable and winch. They are raised and lowered by hand.
Where hydraulic tongs have been employed in making and breaking joints in drill pipe strings, they have been excessively heavy, bulky, complex, expensive, or otherwise unsatisfactory in various regards.